Survey: More Americans Report Being Obese

Jul 19, 2008

"We need to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables, engage in more physical activity, and reduce the consumption of high calorie foods and sugar-sweetened beverages in order to maintain a healthy weight," said CDC's Dr. William Dietz.

The proportion of U.S. adults who self report they are obese increased nearly 2 percent between 2005 and 2007, according to a report in the latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). An estimated 25.6 percent of U.S. adults reported being obese in 2007 compared to 23.9 percent in 2005, an increase of 1.7 percent. The report also finds that none of the 50 states or the District of Columbia has achieved the federal Healthy People 2010 goal to reduce obesity prevalence to 15 percent or less.

In three states--Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee--the prevalence of self-reported obesity among adults age 18 or older was above 30 percent. Colorado had the lowest obesity prevalence at 18.7 percent. Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above. BMI is calculated using height and weight. For example, a 5-foot, 9-inch adult who weighs 203 pounds would have a BMI of 30, thus putting this person into the obese category. The data were derived from CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a state-based telephone survey that collects information from adults aged 18 years and older. For this survey more than 350,000 adults are interviewed each year, making BRFSS the largest telephone health survey in the world. BMI was calculated based on this self-reported information.

"The epidemic of adult obesity continues to rise in the United States indicating that we need to step up our efforts at the national, state, and local levels," said Dr. William Dietz, director of CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. "We need to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables, engage in more physical activity, and reduce the consumption of high calorie foods and sugar-sweetened beverages in order to maintain a healthy weight."

The study found that obesity is more prominent in the South, where 27 percent of respondents were classified as obese. The percentage of obese adults was 25.3 in the Midwest, 23.3 percent in the Northeast, and 22.1 percent in the West. By age, the prevalence of obesity ranged from 19.1 percent for men and women aged 19-29 years to 31.7 and 30.2 percent, respectively, for men and women aged 50-59 years.

"Obesity is a major risk factor for a number of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. These diseases can be very costly for states and the country as a whole," said Deb Galuska, associate director for science for CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity. To learn more about CDC's efforts in the fight against obesity or for more information about nutrition, physical activity, and maintaining a healthy weight, visit www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa.

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